Andy Roddick shares his thoughts on what Ben Shelton should have done differently to beat Jannik Sinner at Australian Open

Ben Shelton went down in straight sets against Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinal. For fellow American and former World No. 1 Andy Roddick, there’s one area where the youngster lacked conviction.

Discussing the Australian Open semifinal in a recent appearance for the Quick Served podcast, Roddick took note of Shelton’s predictability on serve. He urged his compatriot to add the hard, flat serve out wide to give him an extra security net.

By adding that variety to his game, Roddick believes, Shelton will be able to push his opponents more, something, which he felt was lacking for him in the semifinal encounter against Jannik Sinner.

"I feel like If Ben Shelton can get to the point where he can accurately land a flat serve on the ad side at 137... the flat ball on the ad side," Andy Roddick said. "That makes his 106 can opener out wide that much better."

"Jannik Sinner was able to almost like lean to certain spots and challenge Ben to go big and he doesn't really step up and do that," he added.

Elaborating, Roddick said while Shelton is more comfortable playing the topspin -heavy serve, a shot, that according to him is unlikely to trouble the best returners like Sinner. He reaffirmed that to be able to beat the top guys, Shelton has to serve bigger than them.

"I feel like he's more comfortable, kind of throwing the spinny stuff, which is really effective against guys who aren't elite returners," Andy Roddick said. "I think it's less effective against guys that are elite returners."

"I don't know that there's a world where Ben Shelton beats, you know, a prime Jannik Sinner where Sinner is averaging higher first serve speed in a three-out-of-five-set match," he added.

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"What works against a lot may not work against the Novak Djokovics, Jannik Sinners" - Andy Roddick's message to Ben Shelton

Ben Shelton and Jannik Sinner at the 2025 Australian Open. (Source: Getty)

Andy Roddick, a former US Open champ himself, said the one essential for becoming a contender for the biggest titles was to be able to problem-solve during a match itself.

He noted that Ben Shelton needs to realize that he will need to change his gameplan against the top players like Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, suggesting being more aggressive as a way to do that.

"I think, If you want to contend for elite titles, it requires an elite version of problem solving," Andy Roddick said. "You know what works against a lot of players may not work against the Novak Djokovics and Jannik Sinners."

"You do have to step up and be able to control the strike zone with all your pitches. When he (Shelton) does that, he's not going to get broken six times in in three sets," he added.

Jannik Sinner, having beaten the American in the semifinal, has moved through to his second straight Australian Open final. He will face Alexander Zverev in the summit clash on Sunday, January 26.